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CARDIGANSHIRE (Ceredigion, Sir Aberte...

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 321 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CARDIGANSHIRE (Ceredigion, See also:Sir Aberteifi) , a See also:county of See also:South See also:Wales, bounded N. by See also:Merioneth, E. by See also:Montgomery, See also:Radnor and See also:Brecon, S. by See also:Carmarthen and See also:Pembroke, and W. by See also:Cardigan See also:Bay of the Irish See also:Sea. It has an See also:area of 688 sq. m., so that it ranks fifth in See also:size of the Welsh countries. The whole of Cardiganshire is hilly or undulating, with the exception of the See also:great bogs of Borth and Tregaron, but the mountains generally have little grandeur in their See also:character; See also:Plinlimmon itself, on the boundary of the county with See also:Montgomeryshire, in spite of its See also:elevation of 2463 ft., being singularly deficient in boldness of outline. Of other hills, only Tregaron See also:Mountain (1778 ft.) exceeds 1500 ft. in height. Of the See also:rivers by far the most important is the Teifi, or Tivy, which rises above Tregaron in Llyn Teifi, one of a See also:group of tiny lakes which are usually termed the Teifi Pools, and flows southward through the county as far as See also:Lampeter, forming from this point onwards its See also:southern boundary. A See also:succession of deep pools and rushing shallows, the Teifi has from the earliest times been celebrated for the quantity and quality of its See also:salmon, which are netted in great See also:numbers on Cardigan See also:Bar. See also:Trout and sewin (a See also:local See also:species of sea-trout) are also plentiful, so that the Teifi is much frequented by anglers. This See also:river is also believed to have been the last See also:British haunt of the See also:beaver (afangc, lost-llydan), for the slaying of which a very heavy See also:penalty was exacted by the old royal See also:laws of Wales. Giraldus Cambrensis, See also:Michael See also:Drayton, and other writers allude to this circumstance, though at what date the beaver became See also:extinct in these See also:waters is quite uncertain. On the Teifi may frequently be observed fishermen in coracles. Other rivers worthy of mention are the Dovey (Dyfi), separating Cardigan from Merioneth in the extreme See also:north; the Rheidol and the Ystwyth, which rise in Plinlimmon; and the Aeron, which has its source in Llyn Eiddwen, a See also:pool in the hilly See also:district known as Mynydd See also:Bach. All these streams flow westward into Cardigan Bay.

The valley of the Teifi presents many points of great beauty and See also:

interest between Llandyssul and the sea. The rapids of Henllan, the falls of Cenarth and the wooded cliffs of Coed-more constitute some of the finest scenery in South Wales. The valley of the Aeron is well wooded and fertile, while the Rheidol contains amidst striking surroundings the famous cascade spanned by the See also:Devil's See also:Bridge, which is known to the Welsh as See also:Pont-ar-Fynach (the Monks' Bridge). See also:Geology.—The rocks of Cardiganshire consist of shales, slates and grits which have been folded and uptilted so that nowhere do they retain their See also:original horizontality. They belong entirely to the Ordovician and See also:Silurian periods; they have yielded few fossils, and much See also:work remains to be done upon them. before the strati-graphical subdivisions can be clearly defined. Many metalliferous lodes occur in the rocks, and the See also:lead mines have See also:long been famous; it was from the profits of his See also:mining speculations, carried on chiefly in this county, that the celebrated Sir See also:Hugh Myddleton was enabled to carry out his gigantic project for supplying See also:London with See also:water by means of the New River. See also:Copper and See also:zinc ores have also been obtained. Tregaron is the centre of the mining district, and the Lisburne, Goginan and Cwm Ystwyth mines are among the most important. The slates have been worked at Devil's Bridge, Corris, Strata See also:Florida, Goginan, &c. Glacial See also:drift occupies some of the See also:lower ground, and peaty bogs are See also:common on the mountains. A small See also:tract of blown See also:sand lies at the mouth of the river Dovey. See also:Industries.—The See also:climate on the See also:coast is mild and salubrious, but that of the See also:hill See also:country is See also:cold, See also:bleak and See also:rainy.

The cultivated crops consist of oats, See also:

wheat, See also:barley, turnips and potatoes; and in the lower districts on the coast, especially in the neighbourhood of Cardigan, Aberaeron and Llanrhystyd, See also:good crops are raised. The uplands are mostly covered by See also:wild heathy pastures, which afford good grazing for Welsh mountain See also:sheep and ponies. The country has long been celebrated for its breed of " Cardiganshire cobs," for which high prices are often obtained from See also:English dealers, who frequent the local See also:horse fairs, especially Dalis See also:Fair at Lampeter. See also:Cattle, sheep, pigs, See also:butter, oats, See also:wool, See also:flannel and coarse slates See also:form the See also:principal articles of export. See also:Hand-looms are by no means uncommon in the remote parts of the country, and clog-making of See also:alder See also:wood meets a local demand. The North Cardiganshire lead-mines, of which the Lisburne, Goginan and Cwm Ystwyth mines are the most noted, have been famous, and are said to have been worked by the See also:Romans. Some of the lead raised is very See also:rich in See also:silver, and in the 17th See also:century so great was the amount of silver obtained that a See also:mint for coining it was erected by virtue of letters patent at See also:Aberystwyth. Communications.—The See also:railways within the county are the See also:Cambrian, by means of which See also:access is given to Aberystwyth from all parts of the See also:kingdom; and the former See also:Manchester & See also:Milford See also:line, which runs south from Aberystwyth by Lampeter to Pencader, and has been acquired by the Great Western railway. The lower valley of the Teifi, or Tivyside, is reached by means of two See also:branch lines of the Great Western railway—one from Whitland to Cardigan, and the other from Pencader to Llandyssul and See also:Newcastle-See also:Emlyn. See also:Population and See also:Administration.--The area of the administrative county is 443,071 acres, with a population in 1891 of 63,467, and in 19or of 6o,237. The municipal boroughs are Aberystwyth (pop. 8013), Cardigan (3511) and Lampeter (1722).

Aberaeron and New See also:

Quay are See also:urban districts. Other towns are Tregaron (1509), an See also:ancient but decayed See also:market-See also:town in a wild boggy district; Aberaeron (1331), a small seaport, and Llandyssul (2801,) a rising See also:place on the Teifi with woollen factories. In See also:modern times several small watering-places have sprung up on the coast, notably at Borth, New Quay, Tresaith, Aberporth and Gwbert. See also:Quarter sessions are held at Lampeter, and here also are held the assizes for the county, which lies in the South Wales See also:circuit. The county returns one member of See also:parliament, and has no See also:parliamentary See also:borough. Ecclesiastically it lies wholly in the See also:diocese of St See also:David's, and contains sixty-six parishes. See also:History.—In spite of its poverty and sparse population, Cardiganshire has never ceased to See also:play a prominent See also:part in all Welsh See also:political, See also:literary and educational movements. The See also:early history of the district is obscure, but at the See also:time of the See also:Roman invasion it was tenanted by the Dimetae, a See also:Celtic tribe, within whose limits was comprised the greater portion of the south-See also:west of Wales. After the departure of the Romans, the whole See also:basin of the Teifi eventually See also:fell into the See also:power of Ceredig, son of Cunedda Wledig of North Wales; and the, district, peopled with his subjects and nearly co-extensive with the existing See also:shire, obtained the name of Ceredigion, later corrupted into Cardigan. During the 5th and 6th centuries Ceredigion was largely civilized by Celtic missionaries, notably by St David and St Padarn, the latter of whom founded a bishopric at Llanbadarn Fawr, which in the 8th century became merged in the see of St David's. Two important local traditions, evidently based on fact, are associated with this remote era :—the inundation of the Cantref-y-Gwaelod and the See also:synod of Llanddewi Brefi. The Cantref-y-Gwaelod (the See also:lowland See also:Hundred), a large tract of See also:flat pasture-See also:land containing sixteen townships, and protected from tie inroad of the sea by sluices, was suddenly submerged at an uncertain date about the See also:year 500.

The See also:

legend of its destruction declares that Seithenyn, the drunken keeper of the sluices, carelessly let in the waters of the bay, with the result that the land was lost for ever, and See also:Prince Gwyddno and his son Elphin, with all their subjects, were forced to migrate to the wild region of See also:Snowdon. This See also:tale has ever been a favourite theme with Welsh bards, so that " the sigh of Gwyddno when the See also:wave turned over his land " remains a See also:familiar figure of speech through-out Wales. In support of this See also:story it may be mentioned that there are indications of submerged dwellings and roads (e.g. the Sarn Cynfelin and Sam Badrig) between the mouth of the Dovey and Cardigan See also:Head. The famous synod of Brefi, an See also:historical fact clouded by miraculous details, probably took place early in the 6th century, when at a largely attended See also:meeting of the Welsh See also:clergy held at Brefi, near the source of the Teifi, St David's eloquence for ever silenced the champions of the Pelagian See also:heresy. In the loth and See also:ruth centuries the coast of Ceredigion suffered much from the inroads of the Danes, and in later times of the See also:Normans and Flemings; but on the whole the native inhabitants seem to' have maintained a successful resistance. By the See also:close of the 11th century most of Ceredigion had been reduced by the Normans, and during the 12th and 13th centuries it formed a favourite See also:battle ground between the Welsh princes and the English forces. By the Statutes of Rhuddlan (1284) See also:Edward I. constituted Ceredigion out of the former principality of Wales a shire on the English See also:model, dividing the new county into six hundreds and fixing the assizes at Carmarthen. By the See also:act of See also:Union in the reign of See also:Henry VIII., the boundaries of the county were subsequently enlarged to their See also:present size by the addition of certain outlying portions of the See also:Marches See also:round Tregaron and Cardigan, and the assizes were assigned to the county town. During the See also:rebellion of See also:Owen See also:Glendower in the opening years of the 15th century, the county was again disturbed, and Owen for a See also:short time actually held a See also:court in Aberystwyth See also:Castle. In the year 1485, according to local tradition, Henry of See also:Richmond marched through South Cardiganshire on his way to See also:Bosworth See also:Field, and he is stated to have raised recruits round Llanarth, where the old See also:mansion of Wern, still See also:standing, is pointed out as his halting-place on this occasion. Under Henry VIII. Cardigan-shire was for the first time empowered to send a representative member to parliament, and under 1\Iary the same See also:privilege was extended to the boroughs.

During the Great Rebellion the county—which possessed at least three leading Parliamentarians in the persons of Sir See also:

John See also:Vaughan, of Crosswood, afterwards See also:chief See also:justice of the common pleas; Sir See also:Richard Pryse, of Gogerddan; and See also:James Philipps, of Cardigan Priory—seems to have been less Royalist in its sympathies than other parts of Wales. At this time the castles of Cardigan and Aberystwyth, both held in the name of See also:King See also:Charles, were reduced to ruins by the Cromwellian See also:army. In the 18th century the Methodist See also:movement found great support in the county; in fact, See also:Daniel See also:Rowland (1713-1790), See also:curate of Llangeitho, was one of the chief leaders of this important revival. The 19th century witnessed the See also:foundation of two important educational centres in the county: St David's See also:College at Lampeter (1827), and one of the three colleges of the university of Wales at Aberystwyth (1872). In the years 1842-1843 the county was much disturbed by the Rebecca Riots, during which a large number of See also:turnpike See also:gates were destroyed by local mobs. See also:Forty-five years later it was affected by the Welsh agrarian agitation against See also:payment of tithe, which produced some scenes of violence against the distraining See also:police, especially in the district round Llangranog. Chief amongst the county families of Cardigan is that of See also:Lloyd, descendants of the powerful Cadifor ap Dinawal, See also:lord of Castle See also:Howell, in the 12th century. Certain branches of this See also:family, such as the Lloyds of Millfield (See also:Maes-y-felin), the Lloyds of Llanlyr and the Lloyds of Peterwell, are extinct, but others are still flourishing. The family of Vaughan of Crosswood, or Trawscoed (now represented by the See also:earl of Lisburne), has held its family estates in the male line for many centuries. A representative in the See also:female line of the ancient See also:house of Pryse, long prominent in the See also:annals of the county, still possesses the old family seat of Gogerddan. Other families worthy of mention are Lloyd of Bronwydd, See also:Powell of Nanteos and Johnes of Hafod and Llanfair-Clydogau. - Antiquities.—Scattered over all parts of the county are numerous British or early See also:medieval tumuli and camps.

Traces of the ancient Roman road, the Via Occidentalis—called by the Welsh Sarn See also:

Helen, a corruption of Sara Lleon, Road of the Legion—are to be found in the eastern districts of the county; and at Llanio are to be seen what are perhaps the remains of the Roman military station of Loventium. There are also various inscribed and incised stones, of which good examples exist in the churchyards of Llanbadarn Fawr and Llanddewi Brefi. In buildings of interest Cardiganshire is singularly deficient. Besides the ruins of Aberystwyth and Cardigan Castles, and of Strata Florida See also:Abbey, there is a large cruciform See also:church of the 12th century at Llanbadarn Fawr; whilst the massive See also:parish church of Llanddewi Brefi once formed part of the See also:minster of a prebendal college founded by See also:Bishop See also:Beck of St David's towards the close of the 13th century. Tregaron, Llanwenog, Llandyssul and Llanarth own parish churches with western towers of early date, but for the most part the ecclesiastical structures of Cardiganshire are small in size and mean in See also:appearance, and many of them were entirely rebuilt during the latter See also:half of the 19th century. The little church of Eglwys Newydd, near the Devil's Bridge, contains one of Sir See also:Francis See also:Chantrey's masterpieces, a See also:white See also:marble group in memory of Mariamne Johnes (1818), the daughter of See also:Thomas Johnes, of Hafod (1748-1816), the translator of See also:Froissart. Customs, etc.—The old Welsh See also:costume, customs and superstitions are fast disappearing, although they linger in remote districts such as the neighbourhood of Llangeitho. The See also:steeple-crowned beaver See also:hat has practically vanished, although it was in See also:general use within living memory; but the short See also:petticoat and overskirt (pais-a-gwn-belch), the frilled See also:mob-cap, little check See also:shawl and buckled shoes are still worn by many of the older See also:women. Of peculiarly Welsh customs, the bidding (gwahoddiad) is not quite extinct in the county. The bidding was a formal invitation sent by a betrothed pair through a See also:bidder (gwahoddwr) to See also:request the presence and gifts of all their neighbours at the forthcoming See also:marriage. All presents sent were duly registered in a See also:book with a view to repayment, when a similar occasion should arise in the See also:case of the donors. When See also:printing became cheap and common, the services of the professional bidder were often dispensed with, and instead printed leaflets were circulated.

The curious horse See also:

wedding (priodas ceffylau) at which the See also:man and his See also:friends pursued the future See also:bride to the church See also:porch on horseback, and then returned. See also:home at full gallop, became obsolete before the end of the 19th century. Of the practices connected with See also:death, the See also:wake, or watching of the See also:corpse, alone remains; but the See also:habit of attending funerals, even those of strangers, is still popular with both sexes, so that a funeral See also:pro-cession in Cardiganshire is often a very imposing sight. Nearly all the old superstitions, once so prevalent, concerning the fairies (tylwyth teg) and See also:fairy rings, goblins (bwbachod), and the teulu, or phantom funeral, are rapidly dying out; but in the corpse See also:candle (canwll corph), a mysterious See also:light which acts as a death-portent and is traditionally connected with St David, are still found many believers.

End of Article: CARDIGANSHIRE (Ceredigion, Sir Aberteifi)

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